"Who fed you such nonsense to fool a child? Don't you realize you're being used as a pawn?
Boy, someone is trying to harm you, and you're completely unaware?"
In this palace, she just didn't know who was testing her limits by sending out this prince who had only recently returned to the palace. Did they think she wouldn't dare touch him?
What a joke!
So what if he's the Emperor's son? If she beat him, would the Emperor even dare utter a word of dissent?
But beating someone up is tiring work, such rough labor was beneath her!
Yue Fuguang, with the face of a seven or eight-year-old child, spoke these words with an air of aged weariness, creating a stark dissonance.
In the eyes of the Fourth Prince, it was like an ancient demon wearing a child's skin, inexplicably terrifying.
The Fourth Prince, Xie Zhiwei, took two steps back before continuing his foolhardy taunts. "What does it matter who told me? This prince is His Majesty's son. Who would dare use me as a pawn?"
He cast a disdainful glance at Yue Fuguang's small frame. "To beat someone like you, I wouldn't even need one full punch."
"Beat me? Then go ahead and try! What's the point of just talking big?" Yue Fuguang took two steps toward him.
"Hurry up, this Junior Mentor still needs to get home for dinner!" Yue Fuguang's eyes were full of contempt, looking at him as if he were something filthy. This gaze completely enraged Xie Zhiwei, who was in the midst of his rebellious, sensitive, and highly prideful phase.
It shattered his last shred of hesitation and reason into nothingness. He raised his fist and lunged at Yue Fuguang.
"Don't!"
"Stop!"
"You impudent child!"
Several groups of people arrived one after another, seeing from a distance the Fourth Prince Xie Zhiwei raising his fist and charging fiercely at Yue Fuguang.
Their shouts of "stop" couldn't stop what was about to happen.
Just as Xie Zhiwei's fist was about a meter away from Yue Fuguang, he seemed to crash into something invisible.
With a thud, Xie Zhiwei was flung high into the air, then landed heavily on the ground with another thump.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
Xie Zhiwei began vomiting blood, mixed with several white... teeth!
Xie Zhiwei felt like his body was falling apart, every part of him in pain. Yue Fuguang stood quietly watching all this from just three meters away, her face devoid of any emotion, like the clay statues of Bodhisattvas he had faced daily in the monastery these past few months.
Silent, yet radiating an indescribable, intimidating force, giving him an inexplicable feeling of being watched by a colossal presence.
Xie Zhiwei stared at her in terror. Even now, he couldn't believe she was a martial arts master. What he had crashed into earlier was definitely not some external release of internal energy.
There was something strange about her. By attacking her today, he had undoubtedly deeply offended her!
If he couldn't mend this relationship, then the only option was... A flash of ruthless malice passed through Xie Zhiwei's heart.
Seeing Emperor Mingxi running over with a group of ministers, his originally eight parts of weakness quickly escalated to twelve. Tears immediately streamed down his face.
Before Emperor Mingxi could even speak, he called out weakly and pitifully, "Father~"
Pfft! Then he spat out another large mouthful of blood.
Yue Fuguang watched the Fourth Prince's performance with a cold eye, unconsciously narrowing her gaze. This Fourth Prince didn't seem to be the simple brute she initially thought.
He was a master at pretending and performing, one who had successfully fooled everyone.
[Master, who is this villain performing for? Clearly, he struck first. How dare he act so aggrieved? So manipulative and theatrical. Wasn't he supposed to be a troublemaker?]
「Isn't it obvious? He's performing for his father. The one who provokes trouble is in the wrong. Not only is he in the wrong, but he also wants to play the victim and accuse first.」
[Will the Emperor believe him?]
「Not sure. It would be best if he did. That way, we'd have a reason to skip court and classes. Staying in the manor is so much more comfortable!」
Before Emperor Mingxi could even begin to berate his fourth son, who had returned only to cause trouble and stir up conflict, he overheard these two ancestors' conversation.
He could no longer care about his son, who had resumed his performance of vomiting blood, and strode directly past his prostrate son toward Yue Fuguang.
"Fuguang, are you alright? Were you hurt by that wretched child?"
Yue Fuguang said, "I'm fine, Your Majesty. You should quickly check on your fourth son. He seems quite seriously injured."
Emperor Mingxi waved a hand dismissively. "He's tough-skinned and thick-boned. It's nothing serious."
"Father, it hurts!" Xie Zhiwei looked utterly fragile. In his face, Emperor Mingxi saw the shadow of Concubine Xin, who was always ill.
He silently turned his head away. "I am not the imperial physician; looking won't help. Besides, this wretch brought this upon himself with his own actions."
Over at Xie Zhiwei's side, the Chief Imperial Physician, Sun Huajing, soon arrived with two apprentices and began treating his injuries on the spot.
Meanwhile, around Yue Fuguang, the various ministers joined the Emperor in showering her with concern and inquiries, creating a stark contrast between the two scenes.
The Censor, Feng Tang, was the first to speak. "Your Majesty, I impeach the Fourth Prince, Xie Zhiwei, for the grave crime of showing extreme disrespect toward our dynasty's Junior Mentor."
Wu Yong immediately followed. "Your Majesty, I also impeach the Fourth Prince. Although he is a prince of noble birth, daring to openly attack the Junior Mentor shows a complete disregard for hierarchy and propriety. He must be severely punished."
"I second the motion!"
"I second the motion!"
"I second the motion!"...
The Yu father and son even shielded Yue Fuguang behind them, kneeling and performing a solemn bow. "We beg Your Majesty to uphold justice for our Fuguang!"
Leaving aside Emperor Mingxi, who was being put on the spot, even Xie Zhiwei, still receiving treatment, nearly fainted from anger upon hearing the ministers' words.
He was injured this badly! Were they blind? Couldn't they see? Not only did they not come to check on his injuries, but they also dared to pressure his father to punish him right in front of him!
Had they forgotten who was the ruler and who were the subjects? This Dayan was still the Xie family's empire. How dare they ignore him, a prince? Just wait until he... he'd make them pay.
Xie Zhiwei looked at each of these ministers in turn, memorizing their faces in his little mental book to settle scores later.
[Master, look at the way Xie Zhiwei is looking at these ministers. He seems like he wants to kill them all. He's truly holding a grudge!]
「So what? Does he really dare seek revenge?」
[In the original historical timeline, without today's incident, these ministers didn't offend him because of this. But this villain didn't go easy on them when dealing with them later.]
The hearts of the crowd were filled with shock and doubt. What did this mean? Was the Divine Artifact implying that this Fourth Prince would pose a threat to them in the future?
Emperor Mingxi said, "Rest assured, my esteemed ministers. Today, I will handle this matter with absolute fairness."
After listening to the report from his attendant, his gaze turned sharp as he looked toward Xie Zhiwei. Before Emperor Mingxi could pronounce judgment, the Empress Dowager arrived.
She was followed by the Empress and a host of consorts, princes, and princesses.
Almost the entire imperial family was present, except for a very few like Zhou Yunxin, who didn't come. Even the Ninth Prince was there.
A flicker passed through Yue Fuguang's eyes. Emperor Mingxi was more tolerant and patient than she had imagined. So much time had passed, and the Ninth Prince was still alive.
That meant Zhou Yunxin and Chong Hua were probably also still alive, since she hadn't received the last batch of points yet.
She just wondered how long they would have to endure their suffering.
The Empress Dowager first checked if Yue Fuguang was injured, then said to Emperor Mingxi, "Emperor, I have heard about today's incident.
Although Xiao-Si is injured, he got exactly what he deserved!
His actions today constitute extreme disrespect toward our dynasty's Junior Mentor. Even though he is injured, the due punishment must not be lessened in the slightest."
